The family of Botham Jean is one of his clients.

The powers that be are after S. Lee Merritt who has been passionately and successfully fighting for civil rights. Currently, he represents the family of Botham Jean, the 26-year-old who was killed in his own apartment in Dallas, Texas by former police officer Amber Guyger. However, Merrit has been in a legal battle of his own with 16 unlawful practice charges against him,

A lawsuit from January claimed he was unlawfully practicing law in Texas. The Star-Telegram reports, “Merritt’s ability to represent clients in Texas courts was challenged by the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, a panel established by the Texas Supreme Court. The committee filed a complaint in January in Tarrant County asking that a judge grant a temporary restraining order prohibiting Merritt from practicing law in Texas, but then filed a motion on asking the court to withdraw that complaint. They refiled in Collin County.”

The complaints have been dropped.

Merritt told the Star-Telegram, “I run a national civil rights firm that I use to advocate on behalf of victims. The rules governing that practice are not difficult to understand. If I am advocating on behalf of individuals seeking redress for federal or constitutional violations I have the authority to do so as a attorney in good standing before the federal courts and my practice should be allowed to move forward unmolested. That was exactly what I was doing when Sharen Wilson, the Tarrant County D.A. lodged the first compliant with the state bar. The bar had a responsibility to tell her as much and to possibly admonish her as a state agent for making a baseless claim.”